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Further reading: Ron Geaves, “The Haqqani Naqsh-
bandis: A Study of Apocalyptic Millennialism with
Islam.” In Faith in the Millennium, edited by Stanley
E. Porter, Michael A. Hayes and David Tombs, 215–
231 (Sheffield, U.K.: Sheffield Academic Press, 2001);
Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, Classical Islam and the
Naqshbandi Sufi Tradition (Washington, D.C.: Islamic
Supreme Council of America, 2003).
haram
The great French sociologist Emile Durkheim
(d. 1917) proposed that religious life was based
on an absolute division between the sacred and
the profane. The sacred, he argued, encompasses
those things “which are protected and isolated by
prohibitions.” In Islam, the term that most nearly
conveys this meaning of the sacred is haram and
other words formed from the Arabic root h-r-m.
It is used to describe the sacred quality of the
Grand Mosque in m
ecca
and the k
aaba
as well as
other sacred places, such as the Prophet’s Mosque
in m
edina
and the Noble Sanctuary (al-haram
al-sharif) in J
erUsalem
. Performing the
haJJ
ritu-
als in Mecca requires that pilgrims enter into a
sacred condition called ihram before entering
the city. They must desacralize themselves when
they complete the pilgrimage. In many Muslim
cultures, such as e
gypt
, even a family’s home is
said to have its sacredness (hurma). This means
that such places are considered to be set apart
from others and that access to them is restricted
and governed by rules and prohibitions designed
to uphold their sacred or forbidden character. Its
significance extends to female family members
and spouses who are considered to be legally
forbidden to others. This idea is reflected in the
word harim, which refers to either a sacred place
or
Women
. The English word harem is related to it
etymologically. Haram is also used with respect to
sacred months in the year, such as r
amadan
, the
month of fasting, and Dhu al-Hijja, the month of
the
haJJ
to Mecca.
In Islamic law and ethics, haram has been
used to classify forbidden and unlawful practices,
in contrast to
halal
, which is used for lawful and
permitted ones. The q
Uran
established the scrip-
tural basis for this distinction, mainly in regard
to ritual,
dietary
laWs
, and family law. Muslims
therefore hold that the determination of what is
K 290
haram
permitted and what is forbidden originates from
God. According to the Quran, for example, among
the things God forbids people to eat are pork,
carrion, blood, and food offered to other gods (Q
2:173). With respect to family law, it was forbid-
den to marry members of the immediate family
or their spouses (Q 4:22–24). On the other hand,
Muslim men were permitted to marry women
of the p
eople
oF
the
b
ook
—mainly Jews and
Christians (Q 5:5). Muslim jurists later refined
the absolute division between halal and haram by
devising a five-fold scale of categories (ahkam) to
classify all human activities: wajib/fard (required),
mandub (recommended), mubah (permitted),
makruh (disapproved), and haram (forbidden).
The
Ulama
have often differed and debated among
themselves about how to classify specific acts
according to these categories. Acts classified as
haram were those that could be punished. These
included adultery, theft, highway robbery, apos-
tasy, idolatry, consumption of alcohol, and mur-
der. Usury, gambling, and making money related
to illicit activities and substances have also often
been classified as haram. Some Muslims regard
listening to
mUsic
and dancing as forbidden activi-
ties, while some may merely disapprove of them,
regard them as neutral, or see them as permis-
sible according to the context. In the modern era,
debating what is lawful and unlawful has become
one of the foremost aspects of Muslim religious
life, one in which more Muslims are participating
now than ever before. These debates range from
basic questions about owning pets and how to
dress to more complex ethical and moral issues
such as
abortion
, euthanasia, and warfare.
See also
crime
and
pUnishment
;
Food
and
drink
;
harem
;
sUicide
.
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